Abstract:
The investigation "Evaluation of 'Nendran' (Musa
AAB group) ecotypes" was conducted at the Department of
Horticulture, College of Agriculture, V e l l a y a n i ,
Thiruvananthapuram during 1994-'95 inorder to study the
effect of ecotype variation on growth, yield and fruit
quality of 'Nendran' banana. The results obtained are
presented below :
Vegetative characters like plant height, girth at
later stages, number of leaves per plant, phylacron at early
stages, leaf longevity, leaf area duration, leaf area index
at later stages and monthly growth rate at early stages
showed variation among the different ecotypes. The number of
suckers per plant were almost uniform for all the ecotypes.
The time taken for flowering and total crop duration varied
with ecotypes but the maturity period of the bunches was
uniform for all the ecotypes.
Eventhough bunch yield was maximum in Kaliethan,
the number of hands and fingers per bunch were the lowest in
this type. Fruit characters like finger length, finger
weight, peel weight and pulp weight were high in Kaliethan
where as the pulp/peel ratio was high in Poovanchira.
Chengazhikodan and Kothala were superior in fruit quality
compared to Kaliethan.
The leaf nutrient status at flowering stage varied
only in the case of potassium where as both phosphorus and
potassium varied at harvest stage. Poovanchira, Puthur and
Kothala types had higher levels of NPK at flowering time
though Chengazhikodan had the highest potassium content.
During harvest stage, Kothala and Chengazhikodan had higher
NPK content compared to others types.
The dry matter production was higher in Kaliethan
and Pandaloor in both vegetative part and fruits.
The extent of sigatoka leaf spot did not differ
significantly among the 'Nendran' ecotypes during the
different stages of growth. There was no incidence of bunchy
top in any of the treatment plants. Nematode infestation in
root was low in Poovanchira, Kaliethan and Chengazhikodan and
high in Muttathukonam and Kothala types where as the rhizome
weevil incidence was low in Puthur, Kothala and Kaliethan an 1
high in Chengazhikodan and Pandaloor types.
Correlation and path analysis studies in 'Nendran'
ecotypes indicated that leaf area duration (LAD), girth •
fingers, time taken for flowering, number of fingers re
bunch, plant height at post floral initiation stage and g i r t h
of plant at floral initiation stage had a p o s i t i v
correlation with bunch weight. So these characters can 1 -?
considered for selecting superior ecotypes.
In general, Kaliethan can be considered as the most
suitable ecotype of 'Nendran' for commercial cultivation in
Thiruvananthapuram and nearby areas. However, the o'h'i
types such as Kothala, Chengazhikodan and Poovanchira typos
can also perform well in this tract once they become adapt '1’
to the agroclimatic conditions of the zone.